Sunday, October 2
Departure day. I got dropped off pretty early, around 7:00 A.M. I was able to get a good spot in line and so was rewarded with a choice spot for my tackle bag. Everything else just flowed from there. I ran up to the office and settled up with Lori. I'm lucky number 13, stateroom E. It's in the aft section, second set of staterooms. Just forward are C which is under the stairs and D which has the AC unit in it. E and F are choice! Watched the piles of fish unloaded from the previous 6 day, Ken's Custom Reel charter. About 33 wahoo and plenty of school sized tuna and yellowtail. Their JP was a wahoo sweep:
We boarded right around noon, and the boat had already baited up, so it was about half an hour and we were headed out. Safety seminar and welcome aboard family meeting from Sam. Crew introduced was Greg as second ticket, Tony, Ray, and Matt on the deck, with Mitch and Pat in the galley. Sam told us not to worry about Hurricane Otis as it was expected to downgrade quickly and peter out over the Baja. His plan was to head directly to Cedros, not so much for the yellowtail fishing but to make bait. He wants greenies in the tank before we tackle the tuna on the ridge. He said the ridge was simply corroded with school sized yellowfin, and maybe the greenies would help us get to the bigger ones. Then he introduced Monte Parsons of M & M Custom Rods. Monte announced his main raffle was to benefit the Red Cross as they try to help the Gulf Coast Hurricane victims put their lives back together. He would sell tickets at $10 each, as many as you want, and draw on the last day for a $500 prize certificate from his shop. Use it for a custom rod, or buy $500 in tackle. Monte is a big guy, heart of gold, rather soft spoken most of the time except when he starts clowning around. I met him last year at the Fred Show in L.B. and he told me to be sure to pack a sense of humor. Boy, was that right on good advice.
Here's a picture of Monte:
He gave away hats and tee shirts with the American Angler and M & M Rods printed on them. The back of the shirt says, "I got bent over the rail. Amercan Angler 2005." I rigged nothing, as we would have most of the day to get that accomplished on Monday. Dinner and to bed.
Monday October 3
Arrived north end of Cedros around 4:30 P.M. and poked around for some fish but came up short. No biters so we headed to the south end to make bait. The bait bit very well and we loaded up rather quickly. The first couple of spots was Spanish, but we found the greenies later and got it done. Just a note about the food. It was good and plentiful, cheerfully served by Mitch and Pat with of course a crew member serving dinner each night. As always the snacks were great, especially the sashimi spread. You betcha!
Tuesday October 4
The anchor was pulled around 3:00 A.M but I was able to get back to sleep. When the aroma of sizzling bacon infiltrated my room at around 5:00, I had to get up. Sam had been watching the weather, and at midnight he decided to bust a move to the south. At daybreak we got the anchor down on a good spot of yellows and the current was rippin' pretty good. I tried in vain to get bit on a full sized 6X but it was tough getting it to the bottom, so I switched to bait. Many were dropper looping, but I just butt hooked the dines and flylined. I got all my fish on the flyline at this spot, average 15 lbs. as I turned in only 107 lbs of yellowtail for processing. I had some fun and got rocked a few times. I got rocked a couple of times on 40 lb and then got my first one to gaff. Switched to 50 lb on the Saltist 50 and a 6465H and put the wood to the remaining 6. Then I was playing catch and release and decided to have some fun with the 30 lb. I thought I would try to finesse one to the boat. What a joke! I'd play them for a while with a light drag and then get promptly rocked. Yellowtail, if you had to assign them human personality traits, would be classified as knuckle dragging bullies. We tagged daily limits and then moved on out, jigs in the water looking and hoping for a stray wahoo. We were rewarded with a single jig strike:
Wdenesday October 5
The boat made a move last night down to the 13. Today's target species were those school sized yellowfin and perhaps a wahoo or two, and we had the jigs in the water whenever we were on the move. Team one got bit and Bill Winter landed a nice 'hoo; then it was time for my team. Basically, we sucked! It took us a long time to get one, about 24 hours! I had purchased two Yo-Zuri Bonitas and neither would track right. We tried tuning them, and rerigging to no avail. I borrowed a smaller Black and Purple one from the guy on the corner and got short bit, but it came off.
We fished a few of spots with mixed results. The first couple of spots had some dink yellows and big skippies mixed in with the tuna and then Sam found what he was looking for. We drifted the school a couple of times and then he headed back up to where they were and tried an anchor job, but they would not stay with us. I tagged around five or six, around 18-25 pounders. Lots of fun.
This evening, Sam announces that Monte is in the wheelhouse with a gun to his head demanding we go to the rocks and get set up on a spot.
Sam's decision? Looks like we're setting course for the Stones. ETA around 10:00 A.M.
Thursday October 6
We arrived at Alijos and began trolling in earnest for the elusive wahoo. My team is still skunked but I got bit and this one stuck. Hard to remember to turn the handle on a 30SW with 100 lb when the hooked fish is peeling drag, but it's what you need to do. As soon as the boat slowed enough for the fish to go sideways, it spit the hook and there I was standing with the rod and reel in hand reeling in the empty jig. Damn! Back on the troll and luckily I got bit a third time. Turning the handle paid off this time with about a 42 lb skinny. Keep it in high gear as long as you can and then shift to low to get those last two lifts to bring it up to gaff. Yeehah, I've got my first Long Range wahoo and team two has scored. Kept rolling for a little while longer and the next three teams got one wahoo each. Time to get the anchor down and start fishing tuna. The reports have been tuna from 20 to 120 lbs. I pulled the hook on my first two hookups and ended the day tagging one tuna round 25 lbs. Fishing was slow and scratchy, welcome to Alijos. We did not have any squid for kite baits so they rigged up a double trouble sardine rig. Darrel, #1 was in kite jail the entire day. Late in the afternoon Big Dave Holliday hooks into a big one. He's in the harness and the fish stays out away from the boat for a long time. It's on 50 lb on an Avet EX Wide two speed. He's fishing a roller guide rod that Monte had wrapped for him. This fish was tough and as they passed the rod under the anchor line, Greg said it feels very heavy, like a cow. An hour and a half into the battle and at color the fish got sharked at the tail just before it was gaffed, by three crew members. We're all cheering as it hits the deck. It gets weighed on the boat's digital scale at a buck ninety-seven! Cheated out of a deuce by the damn shark! We're all high fiving Dave as it's one helluva nice fish.
Here's a shot of the fish at Point Loma, showing the shark bite. Photo courtesy of Bill Roecker:
Tonight after dinner we make bait and get lots of squid. The bow tank is filled, as well as the hand wells. Then we started filling the kill box with fresh dead. We're in great shape!
Friday October 7
Our furst full day at the rocks and the morning is a little slow. I fished hard all day with only a few breaks for meals and snacks, maybe a beer. The kite starts working and we get through about 6 anglers in the rotation. Everybody cheered when Darrel finally got his fish. I can't seem to connect with a decent sized tuna, and many of us, myself included are cutting off 20-30 lb fish. Not knowing what the future holds, I ended up tagging two smaller fish. Sam begins pleading the case to cut them all off as we're here for trophies. Since the morning was slow, we ran out to Alijos bank after dinner and bait making, both squid and scads. They got the anchor down around minight. Sam tells us he'll give us a wake up call if the yellows start biting. Goodnight, and hoping for a trophy. I'm not desparate, but very glad to have heard at the nightly family meeting that we're going to be giving this another day or so. Photo of the day for this report is of Anglela Wimberly, our solo lady angler on this trip. Angela and her husband ride mountain bikes quite a bit and she's in very good shape. Note the muscle definition in her forearms. She and her husband Jimbo along with Jim's brother Dave and a couple of other friends are making the trip together. I was on a 30 lb tuna getting it up to gaff in the bow when Angela's line became entagled with mine. She carefully put the reel into free spool but go a backlash. She was soaking a fresh dead squid on 80 lb on an International 50 reel. When she got free, she had gotten bit, which is what caused the backlash. Crew member Tony jumped in and put the wood to the fish, gaining line quickly and putting some wraps over the backlash. He handed the rig back to Angela, and she pushed the drag to full and pulled for all she was worth. Here's the result.
Saturday October 8
Stared at dawn on the bank and there were a few nice yellows in the kill box by the time I got my butt out of the rack. I was not very motivated to tie up a dropper loop rig, so I just sipped coffee and watched the action unfold. Sam was not impressed enough with the pace so he gave orders to pull the anchor so we could get back to the rocks before somebody else moved on on our spot, which had been pretty rewarding thus far. I eventually got up on the kite this day. First biter was a shark. The squid were rigged on the kite rods; 130 lb Izorline First String over 135 lb Izorline Spectra. Leaders were two hook rigs tied up on 200 lb Izor with an 11/0 7691 Southern Tuna hook in the pointy end of the bait and a big circle in the head. Sam ran the kites all day and coached us to watch for the boil and then just let our fishing instincts take over. I got back to fishing after another outfit got sent out, and got bit pretty good. I came tight with the fish and it started pulling drag on the Penn 50SW. I was relieved of the rod so I could descend the stairs and fight my fish. The rod was handed down to a crew member who grabbed it and ran to the stern picking up line as he went. When it was OK, I was on the fish. The kite rods are wrapped on Calstar 6465XH blanks, no gimble, long butt grip, perfect for........ you guessed it; my favorite, puttin' it on the rail! I was amazed at how quickly the fish came to gaff. I got to hear my three favorite words, "Get another gaff" and then the satisfying thud as it hit the deck. My new personal best; a buck thirty-five!
After a short break for the weighing part and a few pics, I got back to sardine fishing. I used two outfits. TLD20II, Tiburon frame, 50 lb topshot over 65 lb spectra. Sleeved to hollow JB 80 lb and then a crimp/glue connection with a circle hook. The other was a TLD30II with WillFish Game Over frame, 60 lb topshot of 13 yards of fluorocarbon connected to 80 lb JB Hollow. Rods were Seeker blanks I built for myself. Both with turbo guides, Aftco reel seats and rubber butt cap covers over the gimbals. CJBF65H for 50 lb and CTSF60XH for 60 lb. Everything performed flawlessly.
I think I managed one more nice fish, 40-60 lbs and that was it except for cutting off the smaller units. It sure is easier to cut off 30 lb tuna when you've got one at 135, gilled and gutted, chilling down in the RSW tank. Today's picture is of "Papa" John Lopez and his nice triple digit fish, that was unfortunately DQ from the JP because of a wrestling match with a shark. Here are Sam's comments for the day, taken from the website:
"After the last couple of days of having just a little window in the day when the fish wanted to bite, today was what anybody could hope for on a 10 day trip in October - from just after the sun came up til it faded away in the west, there was always something going on down on the deck. Todays fish ranged anywhere from 25lbs up to 135lbs. We also managed to land a few Wahoo mixed in the catch to go with the steady Tuna fishing we enjoyed so much. The photo of the day is John Lopez standing next to his son Capt. Ray Lopez, one of our Star crew members aboard the boat. John's fish weighed in at 107 lbs which was one of the 5 fish landed over the 100 lb mark. We have another day down at this latitude before we have to start making our journey towards home, so it's time for a good night's sleep before the sun comes up over that horizon."
John was pretty frustrated by breaking off a couple of fish well over 100 lbs and then the shark bite. But that's fishing. He and I talked and he told me he really wanted a big yellow to beat his previous best of 33 lbs. More on that later.
Sunday October 9
Up early for our last day of fishing the rocks. Last night I replaced the topshot on my 50 lb outfit as it had gotten rather short, around ten yards. That's what happens when you get dragged under the boat. I was pulling a 40-50 pounder up to gaff and the deckhand missed, striking the fish with a glancing blow. It spooked and peeled drag under the bow. I backed off the drag and nursed it back carefully to the surface for the gaff shot. He hit it dead on this time. I inspected the line and cut off all but ten yards. It's fun fishing the short topshots as you cn feel every tail beat of your sardine. So, armed with the confidence that goes with fresh line, I put on a windbreaker and started fishing early. My first or second bait got boiled on and it was game on. After a short battle, (gotta love those two speed reels and the rail) they sunk the gaffs into my 97 lb 3rd place JP winner. Having a pretty good day so far.
Still fishing the 50 lb with a circle I saw a wahoo jump and felt the bump. I put it into gear and wound up tight and managed to hook and land my second wahoo of the trip. Miracles do happen, a 38 lb hoo on straight tie mono to the 2/0 Owner Mutu Circle hook. I think I caught one more taggable tuna today and cut off several of the smaller 20-30 lb models and that was about it for Alijos.
Today's photo op is Uncle Dee and Monte with Dee's kite fish:
At the family meeting Sam announced we were pretty well wedged, with enough room for everybody to tag maybe one more yellowtail. He headed us towards Isla Natividad where he wanted to get enough Calicos for dinner.
Monday October 10
After getting in a few drifts and getting fixed up on enough Calicos for a meal, we went up the line another hour to fish a couple of his honey holes at Cedros. The first anchor job was great for 20-25 yellows. A few were kept, I cut all ine off. Then Sam took us to another of his spots that he called the "Over 40 Club." I'll let him describe it. A quote from the website:
"The highlight of the afternoon was when we had only a couple of scoops of bait left, we managed to get a few trophies to end the trip. The photo of the day is John Lopez, Rob Olson and Russel Jackson - the lucky anglers."
Following up on the details of the talk that John and I had a couple of days ago, "Papa" John Lopez got his new persoanl best yellowtail, nice fish at 51 lbs.
Sam put us on the anchor in the lee of Cedros. The crew got the boat all cleaned up and we all sat down to a delicious prime rib dinner.
Tuesday October 11
Travel day in very nice conditions. Movies, cards, books, magazines.
We were making such great time that Sam throttled back from the ususal cruising speed and went from 1500 down to 1350 RPM's. Still, we were going to get to the point at around 3:00 A.M.
Wednesday October 12
Woke up at 4:00 A.M. to first call for breakfast, tied up to the bait docks. Settled up on the galley and tackle bills. The JP was already decided. All fish around 50 lbs and up were wighed if they had a shot at the JP and then gilled and gutted to be dropped into the RSW. Can't say enough good things about the fish handling. Although there were no rubber mats on the deck, every fish was handled carefully, spiked and bled and then slid into the RSW tanks. I ate a tuna steak on Thursday night, seared rare and spicy. It was great. I gratefully accepted Sam's congratulations and thanked him for the great trip. The night before I had sought out Monte to ask him if I would be welcome back next year. When he replied, "In a heartbeat" I knew I would be back. We left the bait docks and motored into Point Loma Sportfishing at around 6:00 A.M. Of course gear, luggage, and tackle come off first. The Sam repositioned the boat on the main pier to unload the fish. Here are the results:
Jackpot winners:
1st place: Joel Akamine 124 lb Yellowfin Tuna
2nd place: Bill Winter 106 lb Yellowfin Tuna
3rd place: Steve Kneip 97.0lb Yellowfin Tuna
Honorable Mention: Dave Holliday 197 lb Yellowfin Tuna
Honorable Mention: Angela Wimberly 63.5lb Wahoo
I went up to the office to see Lori to pick up my tee shirt. The Angler gives out a very nicely printed shirt to any angler catching a fish over 100 lbs. It has the boat's name on the back with the words TRIPLE DIGITS - 100 LB CREW. The new artwork on the bow of the Angler features the tail of a yellowfin sticking up. That tail in full color adorns the shirt as well. Really proud of this one. Last thing I did was to hand her $100 to secure my spot on this trip for next year. Only 11 and a half months to go. Well folks, that about wraps it up. Good luck to all of you who are headed out on your ten dayers in the next two or three months.
All photo credits from the American Angler website except as noted.
Uneducated ditch digger!
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